Brazile, who's currently a first vice chair for the DNC, told CNN on Wednesday that she'll serve in the top spot until Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida takes over as chair of the party committee.FULL POST

Washington (CNN)-As the 2012 presidential race takes shape and the budget battle continues, some GOP nominee hopefuls are weighing in on the implications of a government shutdown, and some are keeping mum.

Of thirteen potential presidential candidates, two have expressed disdain for a possible shutdown and eight aren't afraid of it. Included in the eight are some candidates who support the result of a failed budget agreement, but with reservation. Several stayed out of the commentary fray.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Two days after it officially opened up shop, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is highlighting its initial fundraising efforts.

The campaign received 23,000 contributions in the first 24 hours following Obama's Monday re-election announcement, with nearly all of those donations in the amount of $200 or less, a source confirms to CNN.FULL POST

(CNN) – Sarah Palin isn't the only member of the famous Alaska family that's raked in serious amounts of cash.

Daughter Bristol Palin made serious cash from the Candie's Foundation- a group that promotes abstinence to teenagers, according to a 2009 tax return from the group first posted by the blog Palingates and reported by several media organizations.

So what's the going rate for an abstinence promoter these days?FULL POST

(CNN) - A veteran of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and of the Obama White House will now serve as press secretary for the president's 2012 re-election campaign.

Sources confirm to CNN that Ben LaBolt will join the Obama re-election campaign after the May 16 inauguration of Rahm Emanuel as mayor of Chicago. The 29 year-old LaBolt was the communications director for the former White House chief of staff's successful campaign for Chicago mayor.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, will extend her upcoming South Carolina trip to speak at a tax day Tea Party rally in Columbia alongside Gov. Nikki Haley, according to a Republican familiar with her plans.

The April 18 event on the steps of the South Carolina State House is being organized by the Columbia Tea Party. State Sen. Tom Davis and Treasurer Curtis Loftis, two rising stars in the state’s Republican ranks, are also slated to speak.FULL POST

CNN: Democrats, Republicans fail to reach budget deal
Top White House and congressional negotiators failed to reach agreement Tuesday on a spending plan for the rest of the current fiscal year, bringing the federal government closer to a shutdown at the end of the week. Key Democrats rejected a Republican proposal to keep the government running for one more week at the cost of an additional $12 billion in cuts. Republicans, meanwhile, dismissed Democrats' insistence that there had been an agreement to cut $33 billion for the rest of the fiscal year. If there is no deal by midnight Friday, when the current spending authorization measure expires, parts of the government will close down.

CNN: GOP budget chief calls for $6.2 trillion spending cut
Top House Republican leaders unveiled a 2012 budget proposal Tuesday that would cut $6.2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade while radically overhauling Medicare and Medicaid - two hugely popular entitlement programs that have long been considered politically untouchable. The proposal, drafted by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, would also overhaul key portions of the tax code, dropping the top rate for individuals and businesses to 25% while eliminating a number of loopholes. Under the plan, according to the GOP, total federal spending would drop to under 20% of the economy, compared with at least 23% under President Barack Obama's blueprint. Domestic discretionary spending - the share of the budget not devoted to entitlements - would remain frozen below 2008 levels.